Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Second and Third finished their short-winged birds in no time, but the pitiful Eldestâwho had caught a porcupine-like animal, merely attempted a few bites, and his nose and mouth were covered with spikes. Never mind the fact that he didnât even manage to eat a mouthful of meat, the blood he now tasted in his mouth even belonged to himself.
At the start, Bai Qingqing had thought that those spikes merely pricked Eldestâs hands, and it was only upon seeing his bloody mouth that she sensed something wasnât right.
âEldest?â
Bai Qingqing held up her skirt and walked towards him.
Eldest raised his head at his mommy, his yellowish-orange eyes brimming with a layer of tears, looking incredibly pitiful.
Bai Qingqing felt painful by the mere sight of it. Squatting down by his side, she hurriedly removed the spikes for him. âAre you silly? Why did you carry on eating it when itâs making your mouth bleed? Werenât you fed at home?â
âOoh ooh~â
Eldest rubbed the top of his head against her hand and shook his tail, clearly in a good mood.
âYou donât remember your lesson!â Bai Qingqing smacked Eldestâs buttocks with a displeased expression. âYouâre not to eat such stuff in the future, okay? Even if youâre going to eat it, you can only try when youâve grown up.â
Roar! Eldest responded, before casting one final look at the spiky animal.
Seeing that it wasnât being attacked anymore, the spiky animal revealed its short limbs and ran away.
Howlâ
From the front came a soft, long, and sorrowful howl of an animal. Shortly after, another howl sounded.
âIs there a wolf around?â The howl of a wolf always sounded sorrowful.
Bai Qingqing glanced in the direction of the source of the sound and pulled Eldestâwho happened to be nearest to herâover and stroked him as she held him in his arms.
Parker frowned. After a pause, he said, âItâs Edgar.â
The worry that finally dissipated from Bai Qingqingâs face showed at her brows again.
âWhatâs he doing?â
Parker said, âHe has yet to mate with Molly, so he canât sense her and has no idea how to find her. So he sits at the city entrance waiting for her every day.â
Bai Qingqingâs eyes stung and turned moist.
As the howls continued ringing, Curtis and Parker exchanged a gaze, then Parker said, âItâs hot here. Letâs go back.â
âMm, mm.â Bai Qingqing, who couldnât bear to listen to those howls anymore, nodded.
...
Flame City.
Winston searched all the living spaces in the center of Flame City but failed to find Molly. Since they had lost track of Carlâs trail, he went straight to the scorpion kingâs castle.
âAre there other entrances in Flame City?â Winston went straight to the point.
Seated in an elevated position, the scorpion king finished sucking a cactus fruit, before slowly transforming into a black-haired gorgeous man.
âThatâs right.â The scorpion beastman cast a sideways glance at him and replied lazily, âEvery beastmen who made it to the supreme rank would know. But you left in a hurry, so I didnât get to tell you.â
What Winston was worried about came true. He regretted letting Carl go after wounding him. Perhaps Carl had already left with Molly by now.
How dumb of him! He ought to have investigated this doubtful point right at the start when Carl entered the city without a trace.
âWhereâs the passageway?â Winston asked sternly.
The scorpion king asked in turn, âAre you a rootless beast?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Winston paused.
âItâs said that males with spouses are unable to leave their mateâs side for prolonged periods. Back then the only reason I didnât suspect you was because you were in Flame City for a long time. But I have my doubts now.â The scorpion king got to his feet and moved closer to him. âHow would I know if youâre not a normal male who came here to save the females?â
Actually, Winston had never claimed to be a rootless beast. It was just that he exuded such a strong murderous aura that no beastmen had ever suspected otherwise. Now that the murderous vibe grew weaker, he felt more like an ordinary male, which was different from how he was before.
âYouâre wary of me?â Like the scorpion king, Winston asked a question instead of answering the one he was given, taking offense for defense.
The scorpion king said with a smile laced with contempt, âThe place where the defeated beastmen go is an entry/exit point.â